When Nobody Met Somebody
by Ched890
Summary: Effie Cotton is a nobody. Cedric Diggory, however, is certainly a somebody. The story of what would have happened if Cedric survived the Triwizard Tournament. How will he fare with Umbridge? How will he react to Effie, the nobody who's got more than a few secrets to hide...? OC X Cedric.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC.  
Enjoy :)

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE  
****Prologue**

There was once a girl named Elizabeth Cotton.

At first, one may assume that she was quite ordinary. She was the sort that would deliver your eggs at sunrise, or help you carry your groceries. She would say "good morning" every day but never initiate a full conversation.

Perhaps you would consider the child polite but shy; friendly but lonely. You would be correct in saying that she was polite and friendly. But shy and lonely she most certainly was _not. _I have never heard anyone spout so many words within the space of two minutes, and she has more friends than you could possibly imagine. You just have to catch her at the right moment.

But what defines the 'right moment' as such? Well, that is simple. Just go to the most concealed place possible, and Elizabeth will be there. She'll be in the forest talking to the trees, or on the docks admiring the magnificence of the ocean. If such places are unavailable to her, that is not a problem. She will always manage to find a hidden room or a secret passageway to hide in.

You may ask what this quiet girl was hiding _from_. If you enquired, she may reply "everything" or "anything", depending on her mood. You see, this Elizabeth Cotton has some – shall we say – 'unique' circumstances one must take into account. That is why people simply nod and carry on their way when they see Elizabeth on the side of the road, muttering to herself.

"I wonder if Grindylows can survive on anything but fish and algae..."she may say under her breath. And if you were ever to be in the rather uncomfortable situation of passing her by at this moment, you would simply leave her murmured musings unanswered. "It's what she wants" the villagers would say.

There are many things which differ this girl from other such children surrounding her. Elizabeth Cotton can do things you can't. You see, Elizabeth Cotton is a witch.

You may be laughing at such a thing existing. But I shall have you know that there is a whole realm separate to yours and mine dedicated to the magical folk. Elizabeth Cotton belongs to that world. At least from the age of eleven, when an owl delivered her a letter.

"An owl?" the villagers had said, incredulously.

"I kid you not, my friends." Billy Codger had said to the locals in the pub that night. "With a letter clutched in its beak, no less!"

"Aye, impossible! You're losing your marbles, old man." The plump barmaid had replied, sloshing a great tankard of beer on the man's table.

"I knows what I saw! Me eyes aint haggard just yet, woman!" Mr Codger had replied with the upmost certainty, "That family's different, just you watch"

"Poppycock!" the locals had cried, laughing at the old man's peculiar sense of a good joke.

But Billy Codger was not jesting that night. No, there _was _something different about the Cotton family. Firstly, they lived well away from the little hamlet where the Fox Trotter Inn was situated. One had to row a boat through the murky waters in order to get to their little run-down cottage. It was the only building on that tiny island. The patch of land was only just big enough for their house, a vegetable patch, and a pen of hens. "The finest eggs in Scotland" the villagers would say.

However, their isolated way of living was not what made the Cotton family different. No, it was their daughter, Elizabeth – also known as Effie by those who spoke to her long enough as to enquire her preferred alias (which was rather rare. Effie usually spoke to the trees, not to actual people). Anyway, it's rather difficult to ignore an inanimate object springing to life at the touch of Effie; Or a newspaper bursting into flame if she were to be angry. No, it could not be denied much longer: that girl was _strange_.

It all started a few days after Billy Codger's revelations. The barmaid of the Fox Trotter Inn herself had witnessed Effie doing magic. "Aye, me eyes don't deceive me. Them dead flowers blossomed at her touch, they did." She had told her regulars, always one for gossip. "That Billy Codger's onto somethin'."

So from then on, the locals had simply acknowledged that Effie Cotton was different. They merely ignored her bizarre murmurings of strange words and let her be. Of course, they could have sent her to the madhouse... but Effie was just such a _darling _girl. None of the locals disliked her, and couldn't deny she had a delightfully pleasant aura about her. Who would want to send _her _to an asylum?

Well, I shall tell you the answer to that question: Yvonne Cotton, Elizabeth's mother. Yes, Effie's own flesh and blood had once wanted to banish the magic out of her. But the clinics and counsellors never worked. Soon, Yvonne realised that she was only worsening the situation by notifying others of it. Rumours spread thick and fast, that's for sure. There was no denying it: Elizabeth was a witch.

"I've always known" she had whispered to her husband one night, "I've always known there's something different about her."

"But what do you suggest we do, dear?" Gregory had replied, frustrated to say the least.

"There's nothing we _can _do. We'll just have to...I don't know, _embrace _it" she sighed.

It had been an awful shock for Yvonne and Gregory, to have a child with magical blood. You may be wondering why? Well, because neither Yvonne nor Greg was magical in the slightest. They were completely and utterly 'muggle', as the wizarding world would say. I.e. not an ounce of magic in their veins. Nothing, nada, zilch.

So it was even more of a shock when they received the letter from Hogwarts.

"Hogwarts? Is that some kind of mental asylum?" Effie had asked, inspecting the blood red wax sealing the letter.

Her mother frowned, "but I haven't applied for a madhouse in months."

Effie was not taken aback by her mother's casual use of 'madhouse'. "If it makes you happy" she had always said. If going to a clinic would make her mother contented, then that's exactly what she would do. As little girl, all Effie craved was acceptance and love. Especially after...Well, we needn't talk of that.

Elizabeth carefully opened the mouth of the envelope and pulled out the creamy parchment inside. After reading the first line, she gasped "Hogwarts is a school!" she had cried. "There are other people! Other people like me!" she nearly jumped with glee. She was no longer alone!

Her parents were even more shocked than she was. "Can I go? Can I go mother?" she had asked, eyes awash with happiness, and thrusting the letter under her mother's nose (for she was the one who made the decisions in the house)

Yvonne could not help but utter a shocked "yes," hypnotized by how purely _happy _her daughter was. Who even cared if the letter was a hoax? Nothing could ever create such a look on Effie's features.

"I have never seen her look so joyful" she had said later that day to Gregory.

"Indeed, especially not since-"

Yvonne hissed, "Shh!", a look of sheer desperation in her eyes. That was _not _a topic to be bought to the surface. Never. _Never ever_.

The mother of two took a deep breath then said "never mind." She quickly came back to the subject, "we'll let her go to this school." (for they had discovered the letter was no joke) "Like I said, all we can do is embrace what she is."

So that's how Elizabeth Cotton was admitted to Hogwarts. No, not a mental asylum...But close enough.

* * *

So that's the prologue. What do you think of Effie? :P

~Ched.~


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

In her first year, Elizabeth Cotton was (of course) sorted into a house at Hogwarts. You may be expecting her to have been placed in one of the more renowned houses, such as Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. However, whilst Elizabeth was brave and certainly clever...She was not placed in either of those houses. Of course, there was no chance of Effie being placed in Slytherin. That only left one house.

Hufflepuff.

Now, Hufflepuff does indeed have a rather – shall we say- _unflattering _perception by others. When one thinks of Hufflepuff, thoughts like 'stupid worthless nobodies' come to mind, no? But you are strongly mistaken.

You see, the house of the badger is an extremely strong house in itself – it just depends on how you define 'strong'. Because Hufflepuffs pride themselves in loyalty and friendliness, one cannot judge them on their wit or bravery (as many do), for those are _not _the qualities Hufflepuff was built on.

So if you are looking for a story about the bravery of a Gryffindor or the wit of a Ravenclaw, the story of Elizabeth Cotton not for you. You see, not everyone in the Wizarding World is Harry Potter. There are those that slip by unnoticed, like Effie. And sometimes, it is the stories of those people which are the most interesting.

So this is not the story of a captivating hero named Harry Potter. This is the story of a nobody named Elizabeth Cotton.

* * *

"Why, if it isn't little Miss Cotton!" Malfoy jeered, flanked (as always) by his two cronies: Crabbe and Goyle. He was positively delighted to have come across his favourite Hufflepuff victim on the Hogwarts Express.

"Well spotted" Elizabeth retorted under her breath, put out already by the irritating blond. _Every damn year _she thought miserably. The girl tried to make her way past her 5th year classmates, who were doing a fine job of blocking the next carriage.

"Not so fast mudblood." Draco Malfoy raised his wand and pointed it at Effie's chest: "let's see how this little Hufflepuff will fare in a duel with a Slytherin!"

"I'd really rather not embarrass you today, Malfoy" Elizabeth said in a bored tone. _Honestly. All I want to do is go to a quiet carriage somewhere and read the latest Quibbler. _

But before Effie had a chance to push her way past, Malfoy had already uttered a jinx which was coming towards her at rapid speed.

"_Portego" _In the nick of time, Effie deflected the spell - causing Malfoy to have a taste of his own medicine. And boy, did he regret casting the Slug-Vomiting Charm.

Effie couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the arrogant Slytherin clutching his stomach whilst fat, juicy slugs slimed their way out of his mouth.

"I did warn you" she said, with something that would resemble sympathy, had it not been for the smile on her face.

"What's going on here?" Effie's stomach lurched. _I know that voice._

"She-" Malfoy was cut off by a giant slug wriggling its way out of his throat, "she jinxed me!"

"You jinxed yourself, Malfoy. I simply used a shield charm." Effie sighed. She could not bring herself to turn to face Cedric Diggory, whom she had been fantasizing over for the last five years.

"Mudblood!" was all Malfoy could retort before another wave of slugs crawled out of his mouth.

"Take that back, Malfoy" Cedric said, more angered by the comment than Effie herself.

"No." the boy said stubbornly, before spewing out another slug and barging past the two and disappearing into the next carriage. He left a trail of slugs in his wake.

Effie finally turned to face Diggory, fiddling with the fabric around her wrist awkwardly. "Thank you" she said quietly, not quite meeting his piercing grey eyes.

"No, thank _you" _Cedric laughed, "It's been a while since I've seen a Hufflepuff face up to Malfoy."

Effie couldn't help but smile, "aren't you supposed to stop this kind of thing?"

"Why?" Cedric frowned in confusion ('_so adorable'_, thought Effie).

"Because you're a prefect"

Cedric laughed, "I was a prefect _last year. _Seventh years aren't prefects, remember?"

"Oh," Effie grimaced with chagrin.

There was an awkward silence until Cedric managed to smooth it over with "What was your name again?"

The girl was startled for a moment, before hurriedly saying "Effie. Effie Cotton.". Then she held out her hand for him to shake. She immediately regretted it. W_hat a totally dorky thing to do. _

For an agonizing moment, the girl's hand was simply left hanging there. Cedric, bless him, simply looked at it in confusion for a second. "Oh!" he muttered, realisation flooding his face. He hastened to shake her hand, "Cedric. Cedric Diggory."

"I know." She said. Then, realising that sounded incredibly stalker-ish, she added "congratulations."

"Thanks" Cedric said, awkwardly. He was not quite used to the glory the Triwizard Tournament had provided him with. But Effie was glad that the fame had not gotten to his head too much - Although she couldn't help but sadden at how un-reachable Cedric now was, due to all the fame of the Triwizard Cup.

"See you around" Cedric said. He gave Effie a smile before disappearing down the corridor.

Effie found an empty compartment in a daze, fantasizing over her first full conversation with _the_Cedric Diggory. Then, realizing she was drooling, Effie scolded herself and proceeded to read the Quibbler upside-down for the rest of the journey.

* * *

At long last, the Hogwarts Express chugged to a stop and the students flooded out onto the platform.

"Firs' years! Firs' years follow me!" Hagrid bellowed, a lantern swinging from his oversized fist. _How intimidating he had been, _Effie grinned, reminiscing over her first year of Hogwarts.

But her smile soon vanished as she approached the carriages.

Elizabeth Cotton could see Thestrals.

The girl frowned, recalling the reason _why _she could see the creatures. She fiddled with the fabric wrapped around her wrist. The cloth matched the river-blue colour of her eyes; those eyes looked like a _real _river was about to break loose.

Effie took one pale, shaking hand and ran it across a Threstral's nose. The creature nuzzled her fingers affectionately, the leathery skin feeling almost comforting.

Any of the students who could see Threstrals usually avoided them. And those who could not see them mostly stayed ignorant of their existance. But Elizabeth felt drawn to their big, bony figures and their dragon-like faces. Those glittering eyes (void of pupils as well as expression) calmed her somehow. She immediately felt less nervous to be in their presence.

Most of the students did not notice when Effie reached into her pocket and retrieved a little tin. She prised open the lid and allowed the winged creature beside her to sniff the contents. "Shh, tell no one" she grinned, and let bloody red steak inside the box disappear into the creature's mouth.

The Threstral nudged at the girl's pocket, greedy for more. "Sorry, all gone" she whispered, letting the creature lick her fingers - which would have repulsed most people.

But not Effie. And not the blonde beside her either.

"Welcome back, Luna. I didn't see you there" she said. The girl in question gazed at her and smiled dreamily in response. They did not speak again, but hopped into the carriage their Thestrals were pulling.

Without even thinking about it, the two swapped their Quibbler's and sat in silence, reading for the journey. Many would have found sitting in silence (particularly on the first day after summer) awkward, but the two girls embraced it happily. These two were different to others, and therefore had a more – shall we say – _unique _bond.

As a matter of fact, the two girls had started this friendship when Luna first came to the school. Effie (in the year above) had known the very moment she saw Luna that they would get along well. It could not be denied that Luna Lovegood gave off a definite aura of dottiness. Perhaps it was because her wand was tucked behind her left ear, or the fact that she had chosen to dangle radishes from her ears. Either way, the girl was exactly what Effie needed.

Plus, Luna was the only other student that actually talked to the Thestrals the way Effie did. There are certain things which bring two people together; having the rather niche hobby of admiring Thestrals was just one of them.

But one of the main things that Elizabeth liked about Luna was the joy of simply sharing one's company. There were no questions like: _"why do you always have that cloth tied round your wrist?" _or _"how is it that you're magic but your parents weren't?"_It would be a silent smile or a long conversation about mythical (and possibly farfetched) creatures – depending on what suited the two.

So it was with great disappointment that Effie watched "Lovegood, Luna" drift over to the Ravenclaw table at the sorting ceremony. But being in separate houses did not prevent the two from forming such an irregular bond.

* * *

Elizabeth chuckled at the random memories floating into her mind as she took a seat at the Hufflepuff table. The other students left a person sized gap between themselves and Effie on the bench. But she didn't mind – she rather enjoyed the extra space.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, she spotted Luna fiddling with her Butterbeer-caps necklace. Their eyes met and there was a clear "I hope there's pudding" look. Effie covered her grin with the back of her hand and turned to face the professors' table.

Dumbledore, of course, looked magnificent. The only difference was that perhaps his silver beard was slightly longer, and if anything his eyes only looked wiser. But he still wore his half-moon spectacles and fez-like tasselled hat. It felt good to see him again.

Effie's eyes travelled across the teachers. They all looked the same: Hagrid still took up most of the left side of the table, with Professor Flitwick looking ironically small next to him; McGonagall still had her hair pulled back into a tight, strict bun; Snape's hair was still just a curtain of grease; and the latest Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher was -

_Oh my god, _Effie thought, her mouth swinging open. The new teacher was dressed almost completely in a hideous pink. She wore a fluffy rose cardigan and a black velvet bow on top of her head. Effie was reminded forcibly of a large fly perched unwisely on top of an even larger toad.

Elizabeth caught the eye of Luna, who also looked surprised. But then again, didn't she always?

Dumbledore raised from his seat and spoke out to the Great Hall "To our new students, welcome! To our old students, welcome _back_!" the hall erupted into applause.

Effie drifted into a daze as Dumbledore gave the usual welcome speech (you know: don't go into the forbidden forest –yes, you too Weasley's; these rooms are all out of bounds et cetera, et cetera...)

But then, suddenly, it was not Dumbledore's voice filling the room any longer. It was the pink, toad-like woman that now held everyone's attention. But not for long.

It didn't take much time for everyone to decline into their default I'm-listening-but-not-really faces. But some didn't even bother pretending to care. Effie herself was dozing, her head resting on the table. The only student with their eyes still open at the end of the speech was, of course, Hermione Granger.

"Thank you Professor Umbridge. That really was most illuminating." Dumbledore replied as everyone woke up from her dull speech about progress and whatnot. Effie raised her face from her Quibbler magazine (which had sufficed as a pillow) and yawned.

To the utter joy of every student, plates and platters and piles of food appeared on the table. _Thank God, _Effie thought and she dug in.

But as Elizabeth Cotton indulged herself with pies and casseroles and such other wonderful dishes, she couldn't help but notice an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. _That woman_, she thought, _that woman is trouble._

* * *

Tada, :) what do you think of the characters? See you next chapter (I think it will be a lot of Cedric/Umbridge!).

~Ched.~


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Dolores Jane Umbridge; that name was enough to make shivers run down your spine and shoot bile up your throat. That name had the power to turn honey bitter and rainbows dull...And that name was about to turn Hogwarts into hell on Earth.

The one thing Dolores Umbridge loved more than kittens and the colour pink was her Game. One may enquire as to the nature of this 'game'. Well, this was neither a card game nor a board game. No, it was a people game.

The aim of this particular pastime was simple: crack as many students as you can. Think of them as eggs: every time it crumples and spews clear and yellow goo, you gain a point. The goal was simple: beat last year's score.

You may ask what Professor Umbridge's last score was? 208 students - plus a few teachers. Now _that _is a lot of eggs.

And who better to target than the school freak? They're easy to break: they're already half cracked. Who is the school freak you may wonder? Well, that is a very simple answer indeed: Elizabeth Cotton.

Effie knew the moment she entered Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom that trouble was coming. Perhaps it's a professional Freak's intuition, or maybe it was just Umbridge. Either way, things were about to get hairy.

"Wands away dears, we'll be studying theory today" Professor Umbridge said sweetly, lips twisted into an equally sugary smile.

The class gave a monotonous groan and pocketed their wands.

"Please turn to the first page of Chapter One in 'Basics for Beginners,' and begin to read in silence." The woman smiled, her cheeks bulging and her eyes glittering. The students each sighed to each other and began the laborious task in silence.

Throughout the double period of DADA, no one dared speak or object to the task at hand. You may be wondering why? Why was there no brave soul to stand up to the woman; cause some drama perhaps? Well, let us not forget that this was a room of Hufflepuffs. This was _not _a room of bold Gryffindors.

So - after what felt like centuries - the bell for the end of the lesson finally pierced the silence. A united sigh of relief rippled through the class as students hurried to escape the room. It was clear that each and every one of them was eager to distance themselves from the witch clad in pink. Elizabeth Cotton was no exception.

Umbridge simply smiled and emitted a high pitched giggle. _The Game has only just began. _Satisfied with her work, she waddled away from her classroom to retire to her pink infested office.

* * *

It was Wednesday, period three, when Effie Cotton first began to crack.

The day had not started well. Effie's dreams had been plagued yet again with unwanted scenes. These dreams had been occurring for some time, ever since the...Accident. These dreams where not nasty nor nightmarish in any way, however. They were just...Unhealthy. Like how you'd love to eat a whole box of chocolates, even though you _know _you'll be sick later. Her dreams were such as a box of chocolates: she enjoyed them, but they also made her head spin and tended to haunt her waking world. _Unhealthy._

That night's dream had been particularly vivid. So much so, that Effie yet again wondered if it were not a dream, but a vision.

_Nonsense._

But Effie could not help but fiddle with the cloth around her wrist, biting her lip in concentration. Dozens of 'what if's?' were buzzing around her head like bees in a honey comb.

Effie was so caught up in her thoughts that she walked straight into some sort of solid object. The papers in Effie's hands fluttered down to the floor and she got down on her knees to retrieve them. The girl mumbled unintelligibly about her clumsiness, assuming she had bumped into a statue or the likes.

She could not have been more wrong.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked, and Effie stopped dead in her tracks.

_Cedric Diggory._

Elizabeth Cotton sat in silent shock, staring at her fantasy in the flesh. "Oh. Oh god, I'm so sorry." Her mouth poured out jumbled half sentences as she scrambled to fill the awkward silence. "I didn't realise...Distracted..."

Her shaking hands scurried across the floor, desperately trying to retrieve as many papers as possible. _Just get most of them – he won't notice if I leave a few behind, right? Just get out of here dammit! I can't stand any more embarrassment. _Her subconscious was screaming.

_But why are there other hands with mine? Are those hands picking up the papers? My God. They are. _Her breathing stopped. _Cedric...Cedric is helping me._

Utterly touched by his chivalrous nature, Elizabeth Cotton blushed. Cedric Diggory smiled, "It's not a problem. Effie Cotton, right?" he asked, handing back the girl's papers.

She nodded, giving a nervous laugh. She was mortified, and began an internal battle with herself.

_Why can't I bump into him when I'm being cool?  
Because you're _not _cool?  
Fine. Some time when I'm not being considerably _un_cool then?  
You're Effie Cotton. Good things do not happen to you.  
God dammit, why don't – _

"You alright?" Cedric asked, interrupting her internal babble. He frowned, noticing the girl spacing out right there in front of him. _How can she do that so quickly?_

"Yes" she smiled brightly, trying to work out of her embarrassment. "S-sorry again. I'm really late...see you" the girl tried to maintain as much dignity as possible as she stumbled away from the most popular boy in Hogwarts.

Still flustered from meeting Cedric Diggory in such an awkward manner, Effie Cotton knocked on the door to Umbridge's classroom.

She pushed it open and entered as quietly as humanly possible, unaware that everyone was looking at her. The room was silent and everyone seemed to hold their breath as a light cough was heard from the front of the room.

_Not good. So, so, _so_ not good. _

Effie Cotton turned, as slowly as she could, to face the woman. The latter simply smiled sweetly, oozing with the pleasure of torturing another student. Dolores Umbridge waited for the excuse.

"S-sorry...Sorry I'm late, Miss. I...I dropped some papers"

"It took you 14 extra minutes to collect some papers, Miss Cotton?" she asked, her voice like honey. But not the nice kind; it was the sickly sweet kind.

"Y-yes. Sorry" Effie blushed and stared at her feet. She was still on edge from seeing Cedric, and was in no state to tackle the ugly pink witch in front of her.

"Well, I'm afraid '_sorry' _just isn't good enough. You will receive one detention per minute you are late. Be in my office at seven this evening" she said it as though she were being nice. As if she was doing poor Effie a _favour _by trapping the girl in her office every night for the next two weeks.

"Yes, Miss." Effie said, and stumbled to her seat. She was still too flustered from Cedric to argue against the vastly unjust amount of detentions.

* * *

At seven o' clock that evening, Effie dragged her feet along the corridor to Professor Umbridge's office. Her heart thudded uncomfortably and her hands shook slightly as she turned the door handle.

She was immediately blinded.

The whole room was plagued by the colour pink. The walls were pink, the rug was pink, the cushions were pink...Everything. The only interruptions of pink were the dozens of framed cat pictures. Various felines sat; licking their paws, playing with string or mewing quietly. They all watched Effie in such a way that made her feel rather uneasy.

A light 'heh-_hem' _suddenly dragged Effie's gaze away from the kittens. The next sight was not much better: Professor Umbridge, in all her fluffy pink glory.

"G-good evening, Miss" Effie greeted quietly, for she was of course polite to everyone (except, perhaps, Malfoy. But a lot of exceptions could be made for Draco Malfoy.)

"Good evening, Miss Cotton. I see your punctuality is already improving. Take a seat over there for me, like a good little girl." Her toad-like lips bulged to reveal pointy white teeth.

Effie silently sat in the pink-cushioned chair in front of a desk. It already had a piece of parchment and a long, feathered quill on it.

"I would like you to write 'I will not be late'" her cheeks bulged into a twisted smile.

"How many?"

"How many what?" she gazed smugly at the girl in front of her in a way that could only be considered patronising.

"Lines" Effie said, rather blunter than she had intended.

"Oh let's just say...enough until the message – uh – s_inks in" _

"Okay..." Effie frowned, sensing a double meaning behind the pink clad witch's words. She was about to begin when she noticed, "Miss, may I please have some ink?"

"Oh" Umbridge practically hummed with smugness, "you won't be needing any ink"

The girl's frown deepened, but she shrugged and accepted the matter. It was probably a charmed quill that made its own ink, it wasn't that uncommon really.

But as the quill met the page and began to form a letter, Effie gasped a little at a sudden pain in her left hand. She looked over and her eyes widened. There, scratched into her hand, were the exact words she was writing on her page. _My blood, s_he gulped, _that's the ink. _

Her eyes met those of her teacher, pure shock written in her pupils as clearly as the words on her hand. But her professor simply sat, smiling in what could only be described as a conceited manner.

Deep inside of her, Effie wanted to say something. To let Umbridge know what a sick little creature she was, then run to Dumbledore and tell him of everything.

But she couldn't.

Elizabeth Cotton was a Hufflepuff, and she would say nothing. As much as she hated the pain, she convinced herself it wasn't so bad, really. There had been worse things. Besides, giving Umbridge a reaction would only satisfy the woman. And that was the last thing she wanted to do.

So Effie took a deep breath, and submitted herself to what was sure to be a very long detention.

Meanwhile, Umbridge sat back and smiled at her handiwork. The Cotton girl was clearly falling apart, although putting up a valiant façade. It wouldn't be long before she cracked.

* * *

It had been three days since Effie's first detention, and Umbridge had managed to find a few more victims since then: Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory and Luna Lovegood. Dolores smirked; they would be quite an interesting bunch. She figured the Asian girl and the loony blonde would break easily, but she wasn't so sure about the Diggory boy. He seemed popular though, so it would feel particularly good to break him and his precious ego.

The stout woman leaned back in her chair and gazed adoringly at her cute fluffy kittens adorning the walls. She thought of them as her own children; polishing their frames every evening and chatting to them when they were alone.

"Three minutes to go until detention" she told them, "and then the game shall begin."

Not soon after her words had been spoken, a soft knock was heard on the door. Umbridge gave the knocker permission to enter, and the timid Cotton girl walked into the room.

"You know what to do, dear"

She nodded, keeping her head down and quietly taking a seat in the far end of the row of desks. Umbridge sneered, the girl was already frightened of her and she wasn't even past the first week yet.

Next to enter the room was Cho Chang, who took a seat furthest from Effie and gazed at Umbridge, waiting for instructions. A few seconds later, Cedric Diggory gave a firm knock on the door and was consumed by the ink infested room. He took a seat next to Effie, and looked at Umbridge frowning slightly with confusion.

A few minutes late, Luna Lovegood waltzed into the room and took the seat between Cedric and Cho.

"You're late" Umbridge smiled sweetly at Luna, "Two minutes, to be exact. Two more detentions for you, then."

Luna gave a dreamy smile in response, surprising Umbridge a little. Did the girl even hear what she had just said?

"Well, Mr Diggory, Miss Chang and Miss Lovegood...You will notice that my detention is slightly – uh – _different _from those you may be used to. However, like Miss Cotton, you should know that you d_eserve _to be punished. This is the best way – it must be done for the sake of progress, no?"

The three students stared at her blankly (although that was Luna's natural expression). Cedric looked over to his left, to see exactly what Umbridge was talking about when she mentioned Effie Cotton. Her face was mostly hidden by her long, dirty blonde hair. Her left hand was clenched into a fist in her lap and she was writing in red ink. _Odd, _he thought.

"Mr Diggory, you will write 'I must not talk in class'. Miss Chang, you will write 'I will not wonder the corridors after curfew'. Miss Lovegood, you will write 'I will not spread nonsense'" Luna only vaguely noticed as an insult. "you may begin"

Cedric asked the inevitable question: "Miss, may we have some ink?"

Umbridge looked up from her parchment and smiled, this was always here favourite line "Oh, you won't be needing any ink"

Cedric frowned, but – noticing that Effie also had no ink – assumed the quills were charmed. But when he began to write, he soon noticed a pain in his left hand. He ignored it at first, but soon it became too noticeable to be a coincidence. After all, it was only hurting when he wrote.

The boy slowly lifted his hand, and his eyes widened. There, scratched into his skin: 'I will not talk in class'. He looked over to the others – was this happening to them, too?

Yes, yes it was.

Cho sat, tears streaming down her face and biting her lip to keep from moaning in pain. Luna sat, gazing at her hand with great interest, pondering over the mechanism of the quill. Then, he looked over at Effie, who had tucked her hair behind her ears to reveal her face. It was completely emotionless, the only sign of her pain was the horrid invisible blade etching into her skin, again and again. Cedric cringed –she'd been sitting through the detention for a while, too.

He looked up at Professor Umbridge, rage burning in his eyes. But she simply looked at him, smiling sweetly whilst her eyes pierced his, cold as ice. And as those brown eyes met his grey ones, Cedric simply couldn't find the will to protest.

The boy simply set his gaze upon the parchment, and continued to cut open his own hand; over and over again.

After what felt like hours, Umbridge gave a light _he-hem _and, once given the attention of her victims, said "That will do for this evening, I will see all of you tomorrow"

Cedric and Cho practically fell over their chairs in their haste to leave, whilst Effie left calmly and quietly with Luna close behind. There was an unspoken agreement that the four needed to talk, and they all left down the corridor together in silence. As soon as they were out of earshot, Cedric rounded on them.

"We can't seriously let her get away with that" he said, his grey eyes ice cold.

"Yes we can" Effie said quietly. She pulled her sleeve over her hand, and averted her gaze from the others.

"Cedric's right, we can't! That's completely horrendous!" Cho was practically in hysterics.

"No, Effie's right" Luna chipped in, although the others weren't even sure if she knew what their conversation was about. Cho and Cedric turned to look at her, expecting an explanation.

"Well," Luna looked at them, her eyes suddenly less clouded, "if we give Umbridge a reaction, she will only revel in the satisfaction"

Cedric and Cho stared at her, not wanting to believe that Luna Lovegood was absolutely correct. Effie nodded solemnly, voicing everyone's thoughts: "she's right".

"So we just let her get away with it!?" Cho practically shrieked

"Yes" Effie and Luna said in unison.

"Fine" she growled, "but we better come up with a plan to stop that horrid woman soon"

"Agreed" the others replied, before going their separate ways.

* * *

The next few detentions went by much the same way, with the four surrendering their hands to the pain of Umbridge's cursed quills. The room was slowly imprisoning more and more students, whilst they each desperately tried to find a solution out of the situation. Each of them were coming up empty handed.

After a week since Effie's first detention, Umbridge stopped the students a few minutes early, requesting to see their hands to monitor their 'progress'. She strutted down the aisle in-between desks, observing hands with a 'hmph' of approval or a 'tut-tut' of disappointment.

Effie sat, agitatedly awaiting the professor's approval. There was a vain hope that she may dismiss her early, deeming her 'progress' more than satisfactory. Effie's hopes were soon shattered when Umbridge gave the dreaded 'tut-tut' of disapproval.

"There should be far more progress by now, Miss Cotton. You've been here far longer than the others. Have you been slacking in your punishment?" she asked sweetly, gripping Effie's hand between her sausage-like fingers.

Effie's eye twitched, forcing a "No, Miss" through gritted teeth.

"And what is this? This silly little ribbon?" Umbridge fingered the fabric as though it were infected, an ugly expression of disgust etched into her face as clearly as the words on the back of Effie's hand.

"It's nothing, Miss" Effie replied nonchalantly, whilst inside her heart was racing and everything was in full panic-mode. _What if she takes it off? If she takes it off I'm so screwed. Especially with all these people here; witnesses. _

"Well, if it is nothing then please remove it at once" she said, looking at Effie with smug satisfaction as her eyes leaked some of her carefully hidden panic.

"I-I'm afraid I can't, Miss" Effie stuttered, smiling and trying to remove her hand – but Umbridge's grip was firmer than she thought.

"Why ever not?"

"It...It's for a medical reason; eczema. It's some new regime my Mother's making me do" Effie was internally congratulating herself at such a quick excuse.

"Don't be silly, child. You don't have eczema. I've checked your file."

Effie's heart sank. "But I do now...I got a reaction off something" she tried half-heartedly. Umbridge sensed her defeat, and began to tug on the ribbon.

But Effie was having none of it. She grabbed her hand and shoved it away, and the two engaged in some sort of pathetic muggle cat fight. Internally, Effie was screaming, memories of that unspeakable event unfolding as she threw various parts of her anatomy at the professor. Said professor was desperately trying to mutter the appropriate spells whilst tackling the frail child with her own significant body mass.

And I suppose within all the chaos that little piece of ribbon slipped. It was as though time stood still as the blue silk slid off Elizabeth Cotton's wrist and fluttered to the floor, revealing the secret it had been hiding for so long.

Everyone stared in shock.

* * *

Well, I hope that was OK. I've kinda lost my love for this story and it's not the way I usually write. I will finish this up in the next chapter because I hate leaving it unfinished for you. My apologies :( But I promise the twist will be super cool and it will answer a lot of your -uh, well admittedly unasked- questions!

~Ched890


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